Introduction

Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, usually from
an ore body, vein or (coal) seam. Any material that cannot be grown and harvested through agricultural processes (such
as farming or forestry), or createdartificially in a laboratory or factory, is usually mined. Materials recovered by mining
include metals, ranging from base metals (such asiron and lead) to precious metals (such as gold and silver) to uranium, as
well as coal, gemstones, limestone, marble, oil shale, rock salt, guano and potash. Mining in a wider sense comprises
extraction of any non-renewable resource (e.g., petroleum, natural gas, or even water).
Mining has long been an essential part of human civilization and technology. In the Neolithic Stone Age, Bronze Age,
and Iron Age, mining provided the stone, copper and tin to make the bronze, and the iron. Discoveries of valuable minerals
have sparked gold and silver rushes, leading to the mass migration of many thousands of individuals to places around the
world. With the invention of the steam engine, coal mining became critical to fueling the Industrial Revolution. Newer
technologies such as nuclear power and consumer electronics have increased demands for previously unimportant
minerals, leading to new cycles of mineral discovery and mining.
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Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (fromLatin: cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with
very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; a freshly exposed surface has a reddishorange color. It is used as a conductor of heat and electricity, a building material, and a constituent of various metal alloys.
The metal and its alloys have been used for thousands of years. In the Roman era, copper was principally mined
on Cyprus, hence the origin of the name of the metal as yprium (metal of Cyprus), later shortened to uprum. Its
compounds are commonly encountered as copper(II) salts, which often impart blue or green colors to minerals such
as azurite and turquoise and have been widely used historically as pigment. Architectural structures built with copper
corrode to give green verdigris (or patina). Decorative art prominently features copper, both by itself and as part of
pigments.
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Did you know?

... that more than three-quarters of Alaska's lode gold was mined from the Juneau gold belt (Gold Creek flume
pictured)?
... that Xikuangshan mine was originally explored for tin, but now is the largest antimony mine in the world?
...that the Portland Brownstone Quarries, which once provided brownstoneto many landmark buildings in the
United States during the 1800s, are now aNational Historic Landmark and a regional scuba diving destination?
... that the ruined town of Miedzianka in Poland was a site of a secret Sovieturanium mine?
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Credit: Rayet

The landscape of Las Mdulas in Spain, resulting from centuries of ruina montium gold mining by the Ancient Romans
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Bingham Canyon copper mine in Utah

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Outline of mining

Mineral
Ore

Miner

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Mineral Processing
Extractive metallurgy

Mining by mineral:

Coal
Copper
Gold
Iron
Salt
Silver
Tin
Uranium
Zinc

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